The use of bioethanol in petrol as a tool to reduce emissions from transport has been part of government strategies for many years already in Europe and other parts of the world. In markets where a large percentage of vehicles are older than 15 years, something typical for the Balkans, the topic of ethanol content in petrol is a cause of concern because of the age of the engines.
European renewable ethanol industry association ePURE recently released a chart summarising the different biofuels obligations across all EU Member States. Some have set an overall biofuels incorporation target, while others have separate targets for biofuels in petrol or diesel.
The spreadsheet by ePURE shows that the bioethanol-in-petrol targets for Bulgaria and Slovakia both stand at 9% in terms of volume. Other markets like France and Romania demand 9.2% and 8%, respectively, in terms of energy content. The Czech Republic and Latvia have suspended their biofuels obligations temporarily to address the rising fuel prices.
The full chart is available here.
